Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Saturday put a dampener on the proposed second airport for the city in Navi Mumbai, claiming that the changes required for constructing the airport could have serious environmental repercussions.

A week after the Congress tried to corner NCP chief and Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar over his agricultural policy, the NCP fired its salvo at the Congress, this time aiming it at state chie

Home minister R.R. Patil on Monday told the state legislative Assembly that despite the Supreme Court lifting the state’s ban on James Laine’s book on Chhatrapati Shivaji — Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India — the book’s publishers, Oxford University Press, will not be printing the book in the state. Mr Patil also promised the Assembly that a stringent law would be devised to penalise anyone defaming iconic figures and playing with the sentiments of the people.

The Congress-NCP combine in the state has now resorted to defensive measures over the Belgaum border issue. Feeling the heat a day after the UPA disowned the state’s claim over Belgaum, the MPCC has written to PM Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to rethink the UPA’s stand. Meanwhile, NCP chief Sharad Pawar added his opinion to the fray, saying that the Centre was to remain neutral on the issue and its stand was unreasonable.

The question of the Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar’s daughter MP Supriya Sule’s citizenship has put the home ministry — led by R.R Patil — on the backfoot, with Mr Patil making feeble attempts to defend Ms Sule. “It is surprising that someone questioned her citizenship,” said Mr Patil.

Deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal has created a flutter by publicly admonishing his own party — the Nationalist Congress Party — for giving undue importance to the caste of candidates.

In what would seem totally out of place in the time of Twitter and Facebook, a community in chief minister Ashok Chavan’s hometown of Nanded has decided to do away with television sets from June 14. On Sunday, some members of the community smashed 50 television sets in Nanded as a precursor of things to come.

The last few months have seen a steep incline in the number of deaths in accidents on highways.

In an attempt to complete the census work as early as possible, the state government has deputed thousands of government and civic employees to conduct the survey on time.

The shortage of manpower among the ranks of the Mumbai police is coming back to haunt it in a brutal way.